In manufacturing, where aging equipment is a given and energy rates are a cost center of sometimes epic proportions, it’s no wonder management is looking for more efficient ways to put product out the door.

The manufacturing and retail industries have more in common than ever before, and the straight and narrow path of product movement has turned into a roundabout in which the channels of order and fulfillment are intertwined.

With the rise of these connected operations, manufacturing executives are not only finding new ways to automate and create efficiency, they are also focusing on a big new opportunity for revenue growth: services.